Protestantism

==Theology==

===Main principles===
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|image1=Mikolow protestant church pulpit.jpg
|caption1=Two central figures of the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]], [[Martin Luther]] and [[John Calvin]], depicted on a church [[pulpit]]; both Luther and Calvin emphasized making preaching a centerpiece of worship.
|image2=Lutherbibel.jpg
|caption2=The [[Bible]] translated into [[vernacular]] by Martin Luther. In Protestantism, the Bible is the supreme authority of [[religious text|scripture]].}}
Various experts on the subject tried to determine what makes a Christian denomination a part of Protestantism. A common consensus approved by most of them is that if a Christian denomination is to be considered Protestant, it must acknowledge the following three fundamental principles of Protestantism.<ref name = "Encyclopedia of Protestantism">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-surname=Melton |editor-given=J. Gordon |editor-link=J. Gordon Melton |year=2005 |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions |url={{Google books|id=bW3sXBjnokkC|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-8160-5456-8 |archive-date=2021-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323181207/https://books.google.com/books?id=bW3sXBjnokkC&pg=PR11 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

====Scripture alone====
{{main|Sola scriptura}}
The belief, emphasized by Luther, in the Bible as the highest source of authority for the church. The early churches of the Reformation believed in a critical, yet serious, reading of scripture and holding the Bible as a source of authority higher than that of [[Sacred Tradition|church tradition]]. The many abuses that had occurred in the Western Church before the Protestant Reformation led the Reformers to reject much of its tradition. In the early 20th century, a less critical reading of the Bible developed in the United States—leading to a "[[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalist]]" reading of Scripture. Christian fundamentalists read the Bible as the "inerrant, [[Biblical infallibility|infallible]]" Word of God, as do the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches, but interpret it in a [[Biblical literalism|literalist]] fashion without using the [[historical-critical method]]. Methodists and Anglicans differ from Lutherans and the Reformed on this doctrine as they teach ''[[prima scriptura]]'', which holds that Scripture is the primary source for Christian doctrine, but that "tradition, experience, and reason" can nurture the Christian religion as long as they are in harmony with the Bible ([[Protestant Bible|Protestant canon]]).<ref name="WELS2014"/><ref name="Humphrey2013">{{cite book|last=Humphrey|first=Edith M.|title=Scripture and Tradition |year=2013|publisher=Baker Books|language=en |isbn=978-1-4412-4048-4|page=16|quote=historically Anglicans have adopted what could be called a prima Scriptura position.}}</ref>

"Biblical Christianity" focused on a deep study of the Bible is characteristic of most Protestants as opposed to "Church Christianity", focused on performing rituals and good works, represented by Catholic and Orthodox traditions. However, [[Quakers]], [[Pentecostalists]] and [[Spiritual Christianity|Spiritual Christians]] emphasize the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] and personal closeness to God.<ref>Woodhead, Linda. ''Christianity: A Very Short Introduction'' (Oxford University Press, 2014). pp. 57–70.</ref>

====Justification by faith alone====
{{main|Sola fide}}
The belief that believers are [[justification (theology)|justified]], or pardoned for sin, solely on condition of faith in [[Jesus|Christ]] rather than a combination of faith and [[good works]]. For Protestants, good works are a necessary consequence rather than cause of justification.<ref name="SchaffHerzog">{{cite book|first1=Johann Jakob|last1=Herzog|last2=Philip Schaff|first2=Albert|title=The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge|year=1911|page=419|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AmYAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA419|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=6 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906050433/https://books.google.com/books?id=AmYAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA419|url-status=live}}</ref> However, while justification is by faith alone, there is the position that faith is not ''nuda fides''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Justification by Faith in Catholic-Protestant Dialogue|last=Lane|first=Anthony|publisher=T & T Clark|year=2006|isbn=0567040046|location=London|page=27}}</ref> John Calvin explained that "it is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone: just as it is the heat alone of the sun which warms the earth, and yet in the sun it is not alone."<ref name=":0" /> Lutheran and Reformed Christians differ from Methodists in their understanding of this doctrine.<ref name="Bucher2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.orlutheran.com/html/methodism.html|title=Methodism|last=Bucher|first=Richard P.|year=2014|publisher=Lutheran Church Missouri Synod|location=Lexington|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725061927/http://www.orlutheran.com/html/methodism.html|archive-date=25 July 2014|quote=Also, for Methodists full salvation involves not only justification by faith, but repentance and holy living as well. Whereas in Lutheran theology the central doctrine and focus of all our worship and life is justification by grace through faith, for Methodists the central focus has always been holy living and the striving for perfection. Wesley gave the analogy of a house. He said repentance is the porch. Faith is the door. But holy living is the house itself. Holy living is true religion. “Salvation is like a house. To get into the house you first have to get on the porch (repentance) and then you have to go through the door (faith). But the house itself—one’s relationship with God—is holiness, holy living” (Joyner, paraphrasing Wesley, 3).}}</ref>

====Universal priesthood of believers====
The universal [[Priesthood of all believers|priesthood of believers]] implies the right and duty of the Christian laity not only to read the Bible in the [[vernacular]], but also to take part in the government and all the public affairs of the Church. It is opposed to the hierarchical system which puts the essence and authority of the Church in an exclusive priesthood, and which makes ordained priests the necessary mediators between God and the people.<ref name="SchaffHerzog" /> It is distinguished from the concept of the priesthood of all believers, which did not grant individuals the right to interpret the Bible apart from the Christian community at large because universal priesthood opened the door to such a possibility.<ref name="willsky">{{Cite book|title=American Unitarianism and the Protestant Dilemma: The Conundrum of Biblical Authority|last=Willsky-Ciollo|first=Lydia|publisher=Lexington Books |year=2015 |isbn=978-0739188927|location=Lanham, MD|pages=9–10}}</ref> There are scholars who cite that this doctrine tends to subsume all distinctions in the church under a single spiritual entity.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life|last=Chan|first=Simon|publisher=IVP Academic|year=1998|isbn=978-0830815425|location=Downers Grove, IL|page=105}}</ref> Calvin referred to the universal priesthood as an expression of the relation between the believer and his God, including the freedom of a Christian to come to God through Christ without human mediation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Church in the Theology of the Reformers|last=Avis|first=Paul|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|year=2002|isbn=1592441009|location=Eugene, OR|page=95}}</ref> He also maintained that this principle recognizes Christ as [[prophet]], priest, and king and that his priesthood is shared with his people.<ref name=":1" />

===Trinity===
{{See also|Trinity|Nontrinitarianism}}
[[File:Shield-Trinity-Scutum-Fidei-English.svg|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Trinity]] is the belief that [[God]] is one God in three persons: [[God the Father|the Father]], [[Jesus|the Son]] ([[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus]]), and the [[Holy Spirit]]]]
Protestants who adhere to the [[Nicene Creed]] believe in three [[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|person]]s ([[God the Father]], [[God the Son]], and the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|God the Holy Spirit]]) as one God.

Movements that emerged around the time of the Protestant Reformation, but are not a part of Protestantism (e.g. [[Unitarianism]]), reject the [[Trinity]]. This often serves as a reason for exclusion of the [[Unitarian Universalism]], [[Oneness Pentecostalism]], and other movements from Protestantism by various observers. Unitarianism continues to have a presence mainly in [[Transylvania]], England, and the United States.<ref name="willsky" />

===Five solae===
{{Main|Five solae}}
The Five ''{{lang|la|solae}}'' are five [[Latin]] phrases (or slogans) that emerged during the [[Protestant Reformation]] and summarize the reformers' basic differences in theological beliefs in opposition to the teaching of the [[Catholic Church]] of the day. The Latin word ''{{lang|la|sola}}'' means "alone", "only", or "single".

The use of the phrases as summaries of teaching emerged over time during the Reformation, based on the overarching Lutheran and Reformed principle of ''{{lang|la|[[sola scriptura]]}}'' (by scripture alone).<ref name="WELS2014"/> This idea contains the four main doctrines on the Bible: that its teaching is needed for salvation (necessity); that all the doctrine necessary for salvation comes from the Bible alone (sufficiency); that everything taught in the Bible is correct (inerrancy); and that, by the Holy Spirit overcoming sin, believers may read and understand truth from the Bible itself, though understanding is difficult, so the means used to guide individual believers to the true teaching is often mutual discussion within the church (clarity).

The necessity and inerrancy were well-established ideas, garnering little criticism, though they later came under debate from outside during the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]. The most contentious idea at the time though was the notion that anyone could simply pick up the Bible and learn enough to gain salvation. Though the reformers were concerned with [[ecclesiology]] (the doctrine of how the church as a body works), they had a different understanding of the process in which truths in scripture were applied to life of believers, compared to the Catholics' idea that certain people within the church, or ideas that were old enough, had a special status in giving understanding of the text.

The second main principle, ''{{lang|la|[[sola fide]]}}'' (by faith alone), states that faith in Christ is sufficient alone for eternal salvation and justification. Though argued from scripture, and hence logically consequent to ''{{lang|la|sola scriptura}}'', this is the guiding principle of the work of Luther and the later reformers. Because ''{{lang|la|sola scriptura}}'' placed the Bible as the only source of teaching, ''{{lang|la|sola fide}}'' epitomizes the main thrust of the teaching the reformers wanted to get back to, namely the direct, close, personal connection between Christ and the believer, hence the reformers' contention that their work was Christocentric.

The other solas, as statements, emerged later, but the thinking they represent was also part of the early Reformation.
* ''{{lang|la|[[Solus Christus]]}}'': ''Christ alone''
: The Protestants characterize the dogma concerning the Pope as Christ's representative head of the Church on earth, the concept of works made meritorious by Christ, and the Catholic idea of a treasury of the merits of Christ and his saints, as a denial that Christ is the ''only'' mediator between [[God]] and man. Catholics, on the other hand, maintained the traditional understanding of Judaism on these questions, and appealed to the universal consensus of Christian tradition.<ref>{{Bibleref2|Matt.|16:18}}, {{Bibleref2|1Cor.|3:11||1 Cor. 3:11}}, {{Bibleref2|Eph.|2:20}}, {{Bibleref2|1Pet.|2:5–6||1 Pet. 2:5–6}}, {{Bibleref2|Rev.|21:14}}</ref>
* ''{{lang|la|[[Sola Gratia]]}}'': ''Grace alone''
: Protestants perceived Catholic salvation to be dependent upon the grace of God and the merits of one's own works. The reformers posited that salvation is a gift of God (i.e., God's act of free grace), dispensed by the Holy Spirit owing to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone. Consequently, they argued that a sinner is not accepted by God on account of the change wrought in the believer by God's grace, and that the believer is accepted without regard for the merit of his works, for no one ''deserves'' salvation.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matt.|7:21}}</ref>
* ''{{lang|la|[[Soli Deo Gloria]]}}'': ''Glory to God alone''
: All glory is due to God alone since salvation is accomplished solely through his will and action—not only the gift of the all-sufficient [[Atonement in Christianity|atonement]] of [[Jesus]] on [[Christian cross|the cross]] but also the gift of faith in that atonement, created in the heart of the believer by the [[Holy Spirit]]. The reformers believed that human beings—even saints [[canonization|canonized]] by the Catholic Church, the popes, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy—are not worthy of the glory.

===Christ's presence in the Eucharist===
{{Main|Eucharistic theology}}
[[File:Abendmahl-1547-LC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A 1547 [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] depiction of the [[Last Supper]] by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]]
The Protestant movement began to diverge into several distinct branches in the mid-to-late 16th century. One of the central points of divergence was controversy over the [[Eucharist]]. Early Protestants rejected the Catholic [[dogma]] of [[transubstantiation]], which teaches that the bread and wine used in the sacrificial rite of the Mass lose their natural substance by being transformed into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. They disagreed with one another concerning the presence of Christ and his body and blood in Holy Communion.
* Lutherans hold that in the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]], the Body and Blood of Christ are present "in, with, and under the form" of bread and wine for all those who eat and drink it,<ref>{{bibleverse|1Cor|10:16|47}}, {{bibleverse|1Cor|11:20, 27|47|11:20, 27}}</ref><ref>Engelder, T.E.W., [https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 ''Popular Symbolics'']. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 95, Part XXIV. "The Lord's Supper", paragraph 131.</ref> a doctrine that the [[Formula of Concord]] calls the [[Sacramental union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/supper.html |title=The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Article 8, The Holy Supper |publisher=Bookofconcord.com |access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-date=21 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121030003/http://bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/supper.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> God earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament,<ref>{{bibleverse|Lk|22:19–20|50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=162 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415004724/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref> forgiveness of sins,<ref>{{bibleverse|Mt|26:28|50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528150447/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=28 May 2011}}</ref> and eternal salvation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=St. Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415004724/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref>
* The [[Reformed churches]] emphasize the [[Real presence#Reformed|real ''spiritual'' presence]], or ''sacramental presence'', of Christ, saying that the sacrament is a sanctifying grace through which the elect believer does not actually partake of Christ, but merely ''with'' the bread and wine rather than in the elements. Calvinists deny the Lutheran assertion that all communicants, both believers and unbelievers, orally receive Christ's body and blood in the elements of the [[sacrament]] but instead affirm that Christ is united to the believer through faith—toward which the supper is an outward and visible aid. Calvin also emphasizes the real presence of Christ by the Holy Spirit during Eucharist. This is often referred to as ''dynamic presence''.
* Anglicans and Methodists refuse to define the Presence, preferring to leave it a mystery.<ref name="Neal2014">{{cite book|last=Neal|first=Gregory S.|title=Sacramental Theology and the Christian Life|year= 2014|publisher=WestBow Press|isbn=978-1490860077|page=111|quote=For Anglicans and Methodists the reality of the presence of Jesus as received through the sacramental elements is not in question. Real presence is simply accepted as being true, its mysterious nature being affirmed and even lauded in official statements like ''This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion.''}}</ref> The Prayer Books describe the bread and wine as outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace which is the Body and Blood of Christ. However, the words of their liturgies suggest that one can hold to a belief in the Real Presence and Spiritual and Sacramental Present at the same time. For example, "... and you have fed us with the spiritual food in the Sacrament of his body and Blood;" "...the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, and for assuring us in these holy mysteries..." American Book of Common Prayer, 1977, pp.&nbsp;365–366.
* Anabaptists hold a popular simplification of the [[Theology of Huldrych Zwingli|Zwinglian view]], without concern for theological intricacies as hinted at above, may see the Lord's Supper merely as a symbol of the shared faith of the participants, a commemoration of the facts of the crucifixion, and a reminder of their standing together as the body of Christ (a view referred to as ''memorialism'').<ref name="Balmer2002">{{cite book|last1=Balmer|first1=Randall Herbert|last2=Winner|first2=Lauren F.|title=Protestantism in America|url=https://archive.org/details/protestantismame00balm_593|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|location=[[New York City|New York]]|isbn=978-0231111300|page=[https://archive.org/details/protestantismame00balm_593/page/n42 26]}}</ref>

=== Other beliefs ===
Protestants reject the Catholic doctrine of [[papal supremacy]], and have variant views on the number of [[sacrament]]s, the [[Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist|real presence]] of [[Jesus in Christianity|Christ]] in the [[Eucharist]], and matters of [[ecclesiastical polity]] and [[apostolic succession]].<ref name="Haffner1999">{{cite book |last=Haffner |first=Paul |title=The Sacramental Mystery |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=978-0852444764 |page=11 |quote=The [[Augsburg Confession]] drawn up by Melanchton, one of Luther's disciples admitted only three sacraments, Baptist, the Lord's Supper and Penance. Melanchton left the way open for the other five sacred signs to be considered as "secondary sacraments". However, Zwingli, Calvin and most of the later Reformed tradition accepted only Baptism and the Lord's Supper as sacraments, but in a highly symbolic sense.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dixon |first=C. Scott |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLBa5aO7fgQC |title=Protestants: A History from Wittenberg to Pennsylvania 1517–1740 |date=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1444328110 |access-date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523002943/https://books.google.com/books?id=xLBa5aO7fgQC |archive-date=23 May 2020 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref>
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